Berserk Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links   1v4se

[ MINOR SPOILERS!!! ]
"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true... that man has no control, even over his own will."


These are the first words that greet you in Berserk, a manga that doesn't so much tell a story as carve it into you. Kentaro Miura's masterpiece begins with this grim, introspective monologue-and from that moment on, you're invited into a world that is both devastating in its cruelty and awe- inspiring in its grandeur. There are many stories about revenge, ambition, trauma, and ... willpower, but few with the artistic precision and emotional weight that Berserk carries. It is not just the darkest fantasy manga I've read; it's the most human.

My first image of Guts came years before I picked up the manga: a lone warrior silhouetted against the eclipse, a slab of iron slung over his shoulder. Not a sword—a slab of iron. As Miura writes, "Too big to be called a sword. Too thick, too heavy, too rough. It was more like a large hunk of iron." The line is poetic in its brutality, and it perfectly encapsulates the tone of the series: raw, heavy, and relentless.
At first glance, Guts appears to be the archetypal antihero-stoic, unstoppable, brutal. But as the narrative slowly unwinds, that image fractures. What Miura does so brilliantly is not just deconstruct a man, but the myth of strength itself. Beneath the fury, beneath the endless battles and bloodshed, lies a portrait of unbearable suffering-and the staggering persistence to live in spite of it. Berserk is less concerned with the triumph of the human spirit than it is with its refusal to die.


It's difficult to speak of the plot without diminishing the experience. The series spans generations, ideologies, and the very fabric of fate itself, from the feudal politics of Midland to the metaphysical terror of the God Hand. The Golden Age arc, a beautifully tragic bildungsroman, lulls you into a false sense of hope-only to annihilate it with perhaps the most infamous turning point in manga history. It's here that Miura doesn't just break the characters-he breaks the reader.
And yet, Berserk never becomes nihilistic. It approaches despair, peers over the edge, and then claws its way back-bloody and battered. Guts' journey becomes an act of defiance against the very structure of causality. Fate is real in this world, and so are gods. But they are cruel, indifferent, and monstrous. So what does it mean to resist? What does it mean to fight, knowing you were born to lose?
Miura's answer is found not in victory, but in motion. Keep moving forward. That is the ethos of Berserk. Guts fights not because he believes in salvation or justice, but because standing still would mean surrendering to oblivion. The story becomes a meditation on persistence, on survival-not the fantasy of escaping pain, but the choice to live alongside it.

“Even if we painstakingly piece together something lost, it doesn’t mean things will ever go back to how they were.”
— Guts


Much has been said of the art, and it deserves every word of praise. The later volumes of Berserk are some of the most intricately detailed pages in all of manga-cathedrals of linework, nightmares brought to life. Miura's style evolves from gritty realism to operatic horror and finally to transcendent beauty. There are full spreads that feel like the Sistine Chapel filtered through hell. And unlike so many action-heavy series, the spectacle never outpaces the emotion. When Guts swings his sword, we feel the weight-not just of the weapon, but of everything he carries.

What elevates Berserk beyond its genre is its emotional vulnerability. Among all the blood and steel, the story pauses-quietly, almost reverently-for moments of tenderness.

“A campfire of dreams. Tiny flames, each fragile on its own… but together, they keep the night at bay.”
— Griffith

Casca's arc, though often the subject of controversy, remains one of the most painful portrayals of trauma I've ever read. Her silence speaks louder than any monologue-but when she does speak, the pain is staggering: "I never asked to be born a woman." In that one line, Miura captures the rage, grief, and injustice she endures in a world that offers her no mercy. Her suffering isn't isolated; it reshapes Guts, too. His grief becomes less about revenge and more about holding together what little remains of the people he loves-not saving them, but simply staying with them, scarred and breathing.

And yes, Berserk is often brutal. Women are brutalized, lives are shattered, dreams are devoured. But none of it is empty. Miura does not revel in suffering-he mourns it. He documents a world that is unjust and cruel and deeply broken, and he asks: what can possibly survive here?
His answer is not a hero, but a man. Not perfect. Not even whole. But enduring. [ Dark souls concept lol ]

“What I want isn’t something someone else gave me. It’s something I found for myself.”
— Guts

By the final chapters before Miura's tragic ing, the tone of the manga begins to shift. The darkness still lingers, but there is something else: grace. Healing. Hope, not as some easy reward, but as a fragile possibility— earned through endless struggle. It's not a redemption arc. It's something more honest. A scarred man in a scarred world, learning, slowly, how to live again.
Berserk is my favorite manga, not because it is flawless, but because it dares to be profoundly human. It is a story about rage and cruelty, yes-but also about love, survival, and the tiniest sparks of light in overwhelming dark. It is art of the highest caliber: fearless, beautiful, harrowing.

and when I close the manga, all I see is the famous of guts leaning on his sword with despair, one of the most hard stuck s in my mind :(.

Berserk é um bom 7, não é ruim, mas o superestimam muito. Não é nada demais!

ARTE • 10/10
- Líndissima, fato. Mesmo no começo onde a arte é mais feia e esquisita em comparação com os capítulos mais recentes ela ainda consegue ter o seu charme e te cativar.

HISTÓRIA • 7/10
- A história de Berserk é definitivamente uma coisa, tem que ame, mas eu achei o começo da obra CHATO e REPETITIVO, se não fosse pelo O SPOILER inescapável eu teria largado Berserk ainda nos capítulos do Conde... Mas ai chegamos na Era de Ouro, que é definitivamente UM DOS MELHORES ARCOS DE MANGÁ que EU ... já li, valeu a pena ter continuado!!! A Torre da Convicção volta a ser CHATO E REPETITIVO, com uns 2 combates no arco inteiro sendo realmente legaia de se ler. O começo da segunda metade dela até consegue ser interessante, mas ai voltamos aquela fórmula Berserk: Guts matando demônio sem tempo de descanso. Já Falcão Milenar, embora ainda siga a fórmula Berserk, consegue cativar mais por um simples motivo: o Guts não é o único foco da obra agora, ele não luta mais sozinho, então os combates são mais dinâmicos, além de termos o POV do Griffith, que é mais interessante que o POV do Guts e companhia.

PERSONAGENS • 6/10
- Os poucos personagens em Berserk que são aprofundados são de ouro, como Guts, Griffith e Caska. Mas me incomoda o quão esquecido são os outros personagens, como grupo do Guts! Os que se salvam ali são Guts, Caska, Silke e o Serpico. O Ishidoro, Puck e a outra elfa são na minha opinião chatos e irritantes. E sinto um potencial desperdiçado na Farnese, ela era destaque na Torre da Convicção, mas foi deixado de escanteio quando entrou no grupo de Guts.

APROVEITAMENTO • 5/10
- Foi difícil ler Berserk, dos 4 arcos que li até então, apenas metade realmente me cativou e me fez ler por que eu queria saber o desfecho!!! Além de muita coisa que me incomoda na obra, como as cenas de estupro e abuso, no começo realmente tem um impacto afetando e moldando as personalidade do Guts e da Caska, mas depois é banalizado, virando um simples artificio de roteiro para mostrar o quão cruel são os inimigos do Guts, isso já começa ocorrendo nos momentos finais da Era de Ouro com a introdução do Wyald e apenas piora com a progressão da história.

GERAL • 7/10
- A nota final é 7, mas talve eu aumente pra 8!!! Ainda falta o arco Fantasia inteiro pra eu ler, se os personagens do grupo do Guts se desenvolverem talvez essa nota aumenta. Sinto que o pessoal superestima muito Berserk, o arco da Era de Ouro é realmente uma obra-prima dos mangás, mas a obra no geral não é lá tudo isso.

We all know and love Berserk, but there's just one reason why I can't recommend this show to anyone.

The reason I don't recommend this manga, despite its popularity and widespread praise, is because of how it handles the topic of rape. While it's true that these plot points add weight to the story and attempt to portray real-world issues, the way they are depicted feels off. The victims are often shown in overly sexualized positions and appear unrealistically clean for the given scenario, which doesn't align with the gravity of the situation. To me, it feels like the manga is glorifying rape rather than treating ... it with the seriousness it deserves.

The art – 9/10
However, the art by Kentaro Miura is amazing and incredibly pleasing to the eye. The double-spread pages are insanely well-drawn, and it looks even crazier when you're holding a deluxe edition book.

If you don't mind the "glorified" rape scenes in the manga, you'll love this series—but otherwise, it's just not worth buying or reading.

edit: I dont understand why some of you think this is 'funny' while this is a real problem about the show holding it back, the rape scenes are obviously there for a reason but for the victims to be literally posed up and shining clean during them is insane to me, especially given the scenario where the rape occurs.